PARIS (AP) — For years, Marine Le Pen stood at the gates of power — poised, relentless and rising. She stripped the French far right of its old symbols, sanded down its roughest edges and built in its place a sleek, disciplined machine with the single goal of winning the country’s presidency.

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running in elections for five years.

A French court found her and eight other former European lawmakers guilty of embezzling public funds. The verdict is a hammer blow to Le Pen's presidential hopes and an earthquake for French politics.

In a ruling that will shake both French and European politics, the Paris court ruled that Marine Le Pen is ineligible to run for any political office with immediate effect -- meaning she most likely is out of the presidential race that is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2027 at the latest.

Marine Le Pen, the front-runner to replace French President Emmanuel Macron in 2027, was found guilty of embezzlement by a Paris court.

Marine Le Pen’s political career ended this morning when a Paris judge found her guilty of misusing EU funds. She was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, two of which are suspended and two will

The far-right French politician was a leading candidate to become the country’s next president, but has now been barred from running for public office for five years.

French right-wing leader Marine Le Pen is awaiting a sentence after a national court convicted her and other members of her National Rally party of embezzlement on Monday.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s presidential ambitions were dealt a potential death blow after she was convicted of embezzlement by a French court and barred from running in the next election in 2027.